Album Cover Art

Here we are at #4 on the Gigwise.com album cover series. Let's take a look at what made their list as the most controversial, weirdest, best and worst (warning- some may find the images offensive)



4. Chumbawamba: ‘Anarchy’ - Was this image totally necessary to help sell a record? This is not only offensive, but in my opinion does not belong on a record cover. They were initailly sold in a brown paper wrapper, although it appreared on some shelves uncensored.

Anarchy is a 1994 album by anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba. Many of the tracks address specific social problems, such as homophobia, strikes or fascism.

From what I have read, the music is actually quite good, but for me, this image belongs...well...in the delivery room.

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Weird


4. Little Richard Miller: 'Born Without Arms and Legs' This is just one odd little man. Sure, Richard Millar was a devout Christian who could play the organ and guitar with his partially formed appendages. But why is a giant Jesus in the sky is anyone's guess. My guess is that he is being held up by the water fountain. I wonder if he drives the bus as well? And the title? I think Jesus knew he was born with no arms or legs, but for some reason gave the man musical talent, which is a bit disturbing to me.


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Worst


Various Artists: My Pussy Belongs To Daddy’ Uh, eewww. I guess they mean the cat. Not much information, but here is what I found: Released in 1957. For Adults Only. Spicy Songs Sung By Outstanding Artists here is a short review: "a record chockful o' songs with eye-rolling double-entendre titles like, "Things Are Soft For Grandma", "Tony's Hot Nuts", and "She Sits Among the Cabbages and Peas". Despite the ridiculous titles, the songs are actually pretty decent; most are done in a smoky nightclub jazz style, and sung by naughty-record vet, Fay Richmonde (among others). ..."

Sometimes the less said, the better.....

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Best


4. The Clash: ‘London Calling’ - London Calling is the third album by English punk rock band The Clash, released December 14, 1979, on CBS Records in the UK and in January 1980 on Epic Records in the United States. The album represented a change in The Clash's musical style, and featured elements of ska, pop, soul, rockabilly and reggae music. The album's subject matter included unemployment, racial conflict, drug use, and the responsibilities of adulthood.

The album received positive reviews and was ranked at number eight on Rolling Stone' list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003. London Calling was a top ten album in the UK, and its lead single "London Calling" was a top twenty single. It has sold over two million copies worldwide, and was certified platinum in the United States.

The album's cover features a photograph of Paul Simonon smashing his Fender Precision Bass against the stage at The Palladium in New York City on September 21, 1979 during the "Clash Take the Fifth" US tour. Pennie Smith, who photographed the band for the album, originally did not want the photograph to be used. She thought that it was too out of focus, (she was moving for cover as shards of the bass flew at her when she took it), but Strummer and graphic designer Ray Lowry thought it would make a good album cover. In 2002, Smith's photograph was named the best rock and roll photograph of all time by Q magazine, commenting that "it captures the ultimate rock'n'roll moment - total loss of control".

Uh, cool out, it's just a musician smashing a guitar- ever heard of the Who?

Indie Record Store Saga

An interesting article and a sign of the times:

As part of our ongoing Navigating Tough Times coverage, the Business Times asked a handful of small business owners to talk about how they are coping with the volatile economy.

Navigating Tough Times: Jerry Weber struggles to keep sales spinning in tough times

Pittsburgh Business Times - by Tim Schooley

SOURCE: http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/



Jerry Weber’s Squirrel Hill business has 1 million to 2 million albums for sale. He says the future of his business is online.





It’s an ongoing economic indicator about as subtle as a long, grinding scratch across pressed vinyl.

Jerry Weber is used to seeing people come to his Jerry’s Fine Used Records store on Murray Avenue in Squirrel Hill looking to make a customer out of him rather than vice versa.

“Not only are they not buying records off me, but they want me to buy records,” he said, of the 10 calls or more he gets each day. “I hear this a lot: ‘I’m streamlining, Jerry. I’m cutting back.’”

Such is life for Jerry’s these days.

Weber’s business has accumulated between 1 million and 2 million records, many of which are stacked floor to ceiling at his 13,000-square-foot retail store.
Now in business for “33 and a third” years and decades after LPs were replaced as a standard music medium, Weber recently turned 60.

He understands that many of his customers are his age and have bought all the records they’re likely to buy, and that his business model of buying 2,000 records each week and selling 200 to 300 would make any business major wince.

Last year, Weber grossed between $170,000 and $200,000. This year, he expects about $20,000 less.

More than the record owners looking to empty their attics, Weber is concerned about buyers from overseas, who visit his store to buy large quantities of records to take home to Europe and Asia and resell.

Those foreign buyers have been cancelling their trips lately because of the economy. He received a fax just the other day from a buyer from Europe cancelling a trip.

“This is a guy that would come over and spend $200, $300 or $400 dollars, it hurts losing him,” Weber said.

He sees limits to the adjustments he can make. Jerry’s already operates with only a few people. Running discount sales only prompts existing customers to come back for lower prices.

Last year, Jerry’s devised a plan to bring two other businesses — Dave’s Music Mine and Heads Together, an independent DVD rental shop — in to his store to share his space, reducing costs for all of them.

Yet Dave’s dropped out, unable to support a single employee, and Heads Together is struggling, Weber said.

Weber plans to work for a few more years and then turn the business over to his son, Willie. He expects the future of Jerry’s Fine Used Records to come from pursuing demand for its product on the Internet, selling to buyers throughout the world.

“That’s the only way I’ll be able to pay all the bills,” he said. “I have to change my whole outlook, and I’m not really looking forward to it.”

This Date In Music History- October 24

Birthdays:

Birthday wishes to Rock producer Ted Templeman (Van Halen, Doobie Brothers, Captain Beefheart).

Edgar Broughton, the blues guitarist who led the band that bore his name, was born in England in 1947.

Bill Wyman, bassist of the Rolling Stones ("Brown Sugar") turns 72.

Santo Farina of Santo & Johnny ("Sleep Walk") is 71.

History:

The late J. P. Richardson (AKA the Big Bopper-- "Chantilly Lace") was born in 1930.

The "TAMI (TeenAge Music International) Show" was filmed at the Santa Barbara, California Civic Center in 1964 with Jan & Dean, the Rolling Stones, Lesley Gore, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys and many others.


John Lennon sued the U.S. government in 1973, accusing it of tapping his phone and that he was under constant surveillance.

Maybe they should have called it Earth Day- In 1975, at Long Island, N.Y.'s Nassau Coliseum, James Taylor, Pete Seeger, and John McLaughlin performed at the First Planetary Celebration to promote awareness of global responsibility. The gig attracted only 4,500 people.

Bob Dylan re-recorded "Hurricane" in 1975, after earlier versions of his song about the imprisoned boxer misidentified a bystander in the bar where Hurricane Carter was alleged to have shot two men. It's his final session for the Desire album.

The British government presented Paul McCartney with a rhodium-plated medallion in 1980 for being named "the best selling songwriter and recording artist in history", by The Guinness Book of Records. Since 1962, McCartney wrote or co-wrote 43 million-selling songs and sold over 100 million records.

This silly music business- In 1988, opening arguments were heard in the case of Fantasy Records vs. John Fogerty. The label claimed Fogerty's solo recording "The Old Man Down the Road" sounded a little too much like his Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Run Through the Jungle," for which it owned the copyright. Fogarty eventually won.

The Beatles left Great Britain in 1963 for their first tour outside of their homeland. The Beatles leave for their first tour outside of England.

In 1970, U.S. President Richard Nixon appealed to radio broadcasters to screen songs with lyrics that urge drug use. It’s called censorship.

Madonna's album "Erotica" was released in 1992.

Elvis received his first letter from the local draft board in 1956 concerning his draft status.

Neil Sedaka recorded "Calendar Girl" in 1960, which will reach #4 in the US early the following year.

Brenda Lee reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second time in 1960 with "I Want To Be Wanted". It was her fourth US Top Ten hit of the year, but only reached #31 in the UK.

Frank Sinatra had the #1 LP on the US album chart in 1960 with "Nice 'n' Easy".

In 1962, James Brown's appearance at the Apollo Theatre in New York was recorded for a live album called "Live At the Apollo". The LP would go on to sell over a million copies and earn a reputation for being one of the finest concert albums ever made and was listed at #24 in Rolling Stone Magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Pink Floyd were at the top of the UK album chart in 1970 with "Atom Heart Mother", the group's first #1 LP.

'Abraxas', Santana's second album, topped the album chart in 1970. Although it is a favorite of FM rock stations, it also yields a pair of AM hits in "Black Magic Woman" (#4) and "Oye Como Va" (#13).

Classic Rock Videos

Leslie Gore- You Don't Own Me

Album Cover Art

Continuing our look at Gigwise.com's list of the most controversial, weirdest, best and worst album covers (as put together by their staff), we are now in the top 5!

Controversial


5. Brujeria: ‘Matando Gueros’ – The debut album from this Mexican heavy metal crew shows a hand holding up mutilated, decapitated head against a white background. Add to this content that talked mostly of killing white Americans and crossing the border, resulted in the album being banned in many stores. Gee, I wonder why.

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Weird


5. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: 'Trout Mask Replica' (1969) The third studio album by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. The album was produced by Frank Zappa, a friend and former schoolmate of Beefheart (also known as Don Van Vliet), and was originally released on Zappa's own Straight Records imprint in 1969. Combining blues-rock, psychedelic rock, free jazz, and other apparently disparate genres of American music, it is regarded as an important work of experimental music and appears at number 58 on the List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Schenkel created the artwork and design for Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, described by the BBC's DJ John Peel in these terms:

"If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is probably that work."

And the critic Steve Huey wrote that the album's influence "was felt more in spirit ...as a catalyst rather than a literal musical starting point. However, its inspiring reimagining of what was possible in a rock context laid the groundwork for countless experiments in rock surrealism to follow, especially during the punk/new wave era."

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Worst


5. Europe – ‘The Final Countdown’: As Gigwise wisely states: "Everything about this cover wreaks of Eighties cheese and tackiness. The Swedish hair rockers may have produced one of the songs of the decade, but their artwork left a lot to be desired."

Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements. Since its formation, Europe has released seven studio albums, three live albums, three compilations and seven videos.

Europe rose to international fame in the 1980s with its third album The Final Countdown, which became a high commercial success and sold over three million copies in the United States. Europe was one of the most successful rock acts of the 80's and sold over four million albums in the United States alone and over 10 million albums worldwide. The band has achieved two top 20 albums on the Billboard 200 chart (The Final Countdown and Out of This World) and two top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart ("The Final Countdown" and "Carrie"). From 1986 to 1992 Europe sold over 20 million records worldwide, making them the 4th most successful act from Sweden in history.

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Best


5. The Strokes: ‘Is This It’ – The album that has probably defined indie music since the turn of the millennium more than any other sports a cover of simple cheekiness.

Is This It is the debut album by the American alternative rock band The Strokes, released in 2001. The Strokes were the first band to break into the mainstream as part of the turn-of-the-millennium garage rock trend. After signing with RCA, the band went on the opposite way of recording adopted by traditional rock bands. Instead of doing their full-length debut in a professional studio, the Strokes instead opted to record in a basement on Manhattan's Lower East Side, to which they put the name Transporter Raum Studio.

Is This It is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 2000s. It was ranked 89th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 367 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In June 2005, the album was ranked number 100 on Spin's list of the "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". In July 2006, the album was ranked 48 on The Observer's list of 'The 50 Albums That Changed Music.' In November 2007 Q magazine rated it at 21 in "21 albums that changed music" In addition to being ranked among the greatest albums of all time, the non-U.S. version of the album cover has been ranked as one of the greatest album covers of all time. The U.S. cover is different; it features a photo of particle collisions in the Big European Bubble Chamber.

We have seen this cover before, why they (Gigwise) choose to 'recycle' covers for their list, is beyond me, I can think of a hundred covers better than this one.

New Book from Roger Dean Available Oct. 28!

Album Cover Album book
Do you love album cover art? If you are a reader of my blog, you know that it is a favorite topic of mine. I would hope that any album cover lover knows who Roger Dean is. For those who don't, Roger Dean's artwork has graced the covers of albums by many rock, motown or progressive rock bands and posters of the Roger Dean's cover art were published both in the seventies and eighties and he continues to do amazing work now.


New Book from Roger Dean Available Oct. 28!

It's been over 20 years since legendary artist, Roger Dean, publised Magnetic Storm, the followup book to the enormously successful VIEWS (published in the mid 70s.) The wait is over and the magnificent new book, Dragon's Dream is available as of Oct. 28!

This book contains plenty of new stuff as well as a review of some of Roger's earlier work and introduces art and design work by Roger's daughter, Freyja. Furthermore, this book comes in Hardback! And, to top it off, Roger has re-issued the original Album Cover Album book, also in Hardback format. These books retail for only $29.95 (U.S. Dollars.) You order one from Kreative Concepts by following the link below. It is also possible to add to your order a request for a special signed and embossed insert. This is an acid free sheet onto which Roger has signed his name and embossed the sheet with his unique initial embosser. Add $10.00 for this insert. Add $5.95 for shipping of the first book and $4.00 for each additional book. The link for ordering is:

http://www.kkllc.com/ddaca.htm


(new book cover)

Dragon's Dream and Album Cover Album

Available Oct. 28, 2008!


















Cool Hardback Formats of the Brand New Dragon's Dream and the Re-Issued Album Cover Album. Only $29.95 ea. Shipping for 1st book is $5.95 and $4.00 for each additional book.

Order Your copy today at:

http://www.kkllc.com/ddaca.htm

Let them know you heard about the book from collectingvinylrecords.com!!

Classic Rock Videos

Lesley Gore- It's My Party

Music News

AC/DC Sales Explosion


The new AC/DC album, Black Ice, is looking to be a major blockbuster, even though sales are limited to Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs stores in the U.S.Early word from Wal-Mart is that the album moved 193,000 copies the first day and is projected to possibly hit the 800,000 mark before the end of the week.

To boost AC/DC sales, the retail giant also opened band "stores-within-a-store" in their retail outlest with the band's catalog and other merchandise, along with "pop-up" stores in New York and Los Angeles totally dedicated to the band.

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Guns N' Roses to Release New Album After 15-Year Wait

By Mark Beech

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Guns N' Roses released a new single today as a preview to the album ``Chinese Democracy,'' ending a 15-year wait for fans of the U.S. rock band.

The title track is available for streaming on Internet sites such as www.q1043.com. Best Buy Co. and Geffen Records said in an e-mailed release that the album will be available beginning Nov. 23 at Best Buy, the world's largest electronic retailer, and www.bestbuycom on CD, vinyl, and digital downloads.

Guns N' Roses has sold more than 90 million albums. The last original releases were ``Use Your Illusion I'' and ``Use Your Illusion II'' in 1991. (``The Spaghetti Incident?'' of 1993 was a covers collection.)

```Chinese Democracy' is one of the most highly anticipated albums in music history,'' Gary Arnold, senior entertainment officer for Best Buy, said in the e-mailed release.

Produced by singer Axl Rose and Caram Costanzo, the album, which will be released on Black Frog/Geffen Records, includes 14 tracks. Billboard said the album's production cost was $13 million.

The Guns N' Roses Web site has carried statements from Rose before saying the record is near release.

A California man has been charged with posting nine songs from the unreleased album on his own site.

SOURCE: http://www.bloomberg.com/

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MUDCRUTCH TO RELEASE LIVE EP NOVEMBER 11th

Mudcrutch , the legendary Florida band featuring Tom Petty, Tom Leadon, Randall Marsh, Mike Campbell, and Benmont Tench, will release a live EP entitled Extended Play Live on Reprise Records November 11, 2008. Extended Play Live will be released digitally, on compact disc, and on 180 Gram High Performance Vinyl. The vinyl edition includes a full dynamic range audiophile CD.

The band undertook a short but wildly popular tour of intimate California venues last April, including six sold-out nights at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. Extended Play Live features four tracks recorded during the tour–including a dramatic fifteen-minute version of the band’s masterpiece, “Crystal River,” recorded live at the Troubadour. All four tracks on the EP are currently streaming in their entirety at www.mudcrutchmusic.com.

Extended Play Live TRACK LISTING:

The Wrong Thing To Do (Live At The Ventura Theatre, Ventura, CA, April 20, 2008)

Bootleg Flyer (Live At The Ventura Theatre, Ventura, CA, April 20, 2008)

Crystal River (Live At The Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA, April 28, 2008)

High School Confidential (Live At The Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA, May 2, 2008)

Album Cover Art

On to #6 on the Gigwise.com list of the most controversial, weirdest, best and worst album covers of all time as compiled by their staff.

Controversial


6. Mom’s Apple Pie: ‘Mom’s Apple Pie’ -Mom's Apple Pie was a ten-member American rock band from Warren, Ohio. They were best known for their album cover but also for the voice of the lead singer Bob Fiorino. The band released two albums: Mom's Apple Pie in 1971 and Mom's Apple Pie II in 1973. A third album was recorded but never released. Their manager was Larry Patterson and they recorded on a label owned by Terry Knight, Brown Bag Records. The band enjoyed a successful career nationally and toured extensively across the U.S. Venues included a wide array of college campuses, clubs, concert halls, the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden. They performed with such artists as the Doobie Brothers and David Bowie. Larry Patterson, the manager of Mom's Apple Pie, booked the demo session with producer Kenny Hamann at the Cleveland Recording Company and signed the group with Terry Knight.

Both albums have become favorites among collectors, due in part to the self-titled first album's risque cover artwork. The cover was banned shortly upon the album's release and an alternate cover was released, making both versions highly sought-after among collectors.[citation needed] Their musicianship and overall sound have been compared to such bands as Blood Sweat and Tears and Chicago.

I love apple pie, especially with blood in it.

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Weird


6. Cattle Decapitation: 'Humanure' How freaking lovely, a cow passing human remains.

Cattle Decapitation's second full length album on Metal Blade Records and first with drummer Michael Laughlin (ex-Creation Is Crucifixion). Features guest appearances by ex-member Gabe Serbian as well as Justin Pearson and Robert Bray from Gabe's band The Locust. Also a special guest appearance by Scott Miller, first time Cattle Decapitation member.




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Worst


6. Kevin Rowland – ‘My Beauty’ Apparently, they loved this LP cover so much, they have included it again. (it was at #9 of their weirdest)I still don't like it.






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Best


6. Beastie Boys: ‘License To III’ Licensed to Ill is the debut album by the Beastie Boys, released in 1986.

It was the first rap LP to top Billboard's Pop Albums chart. It also peaked at #2 on the Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums chart. It is Columbia Records' fastest selling debut record to date and sold over five million copies.

The full album cover, front to back, features a Boeing 727 — with "Beastie Boys" emblazoned on the tail — crashing head-on into the side of a mountain. The tail of the plane has the Def Jam logo and the legend '3MTA3' which spells 'EATME' when viewed in a mirror.

The original title for this album was Don't Be a Faggot but Columbia Records flatly refused to release the album with this title and pressured Russell Simmons (their manager and label Def Jam head) into having the Beastie Boys to come up with another name. Adam Horovitz has since apologized for the band's earlier title.

NYLVI - Your Place for Vinyl

Well, it is official, I am in contact with co-founder Ivar Lien and NYLVI has officially launched. Check out the specifics:




WHAT IS NYLVI?
A Market Place for Vinyl Records

NYLVI will be a marketplace, which will support independent artists, labels and record stores, and will act to help spreading musical innovation to a global community of music lovers and record collectors, by letting users easily sell, buy, share and discover music on vinyl. We want to build a community around the act of buying and selling vinyl records by preserving the related social aspects.

Open, Fair and Participatory

We are committed to creating an open, fair and participatory service. All members are treated equally and are given the same opportunities to promote themselves and benefit from the service.

It's All About Vinyl Records

NYLVI will focus exclusively on vinyl records. We believe the vinyl format is highly compatible with the digital future of the music industry, and offers a listening experience which cannot be matched by any other format.

Our Ideals and Values

NYLVI's core values are equal to the values and ideas of the local independent record store: knowledge, love of music, support of artists and musical communities, contribution to local variations and musical diversity.

Supporting Local Music Scenes

NYLVI will be located at the intersection between local and global, and will be a place to discover music from around the globe by drawing on the expert knowledge of local scene members. By structuring our service in accordance with the world's music scenes and the activities taking place inside these, we believe we have found a great way to support independent artists and scene participants, and to make local musical innovation globally available.

WHAT WE OFFER

At NYLVI we work hard to build a service we hope you will enjoy using. NYLVI will launch with the core features listed below:

Customizable Profile and Shop Page

You will be able to easily create a customizable profile and shop page, which will fit perfectly together with your existing online activities, and thereby improve your online presence.

New and Easy Inventory Uploading

NYLVI is in the process of developing a new and easy-to-use inventory uploading system. You will be able to easily upload your entire inventory by using spreadsheets or text files. Records can also easily be added one at a time.

We promote the Service

NYLVI is highly committed to promoting the service, and thereby increasing the number of potential users who will view your profile, shop and records, and hopefully improve your chance of making a sale.

No Financial Risk

Listing your records is free. You only pay a small commission if a sale is made. However, we won’t charge any commission in September and Oktober.

Easy Handling of Shipping Options

Handling of the various shipping options is made easy by enabling the creation of different shipping profiles for different shipping zones.

Release Information and Pictures

NYLVI works hard to build a high quality vinyl database in order to improve the accuracy of release information and pictures. As you keep uploading releases, this will help us at getting it right.

Scene Pages

The Scene Pages, with collective blogs and user-generated content, will give users easy access to information about local artists, events, and news. We will start out with , , , , and , and will continue to add scenes based on both geographical location and music preferences.

We are committed to continuously developing the service, and we plan to add more functionality. We would love to hear more about what you would like from our service. Please feel free to contact us at any time at: contact@nylvi.com

Vinyl Record and Music News

Nada Surf will drop a five-disc boxed set that puts its entire catalog on vinyl Nov. 25. The set, which is released through Barsuk Records, is limited to 1,000 copies, and also contains a repressing of the band's original 7-inch debut.
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Eels Issue Deluxe Blinking Lights Vinyl Box, Free EP

Limited edition box includes 17-track live LP

The CD incarnation of Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, the 2005 double-disc offering from Eels, is a sizeable undertaking for any listener. But things just got a whole lot bigger in darn near every way possible, as Blinking Lights and Other Revelations will hit vinyl for the first time in a massive limited edition 4LP box set that's available for preorder now.

In addition to the original album splayed out over three 180 gram LPs, there's a 17-cut bonus slab of vinyl entitled Manchester 2005 and exclusive to the release. Each of the 2,500 autographed boxes also comes with a hardback book of lyrics and photos, and the whole self-released kit and kaboodle is expected to ship October 28. These puppies are numbered, and being sold in ascending order, so if that sort of thing makes a difference to you, you'll want to act fast.

And if it doesn't, well, you might as well hit up the Eels website and download the four free MP3s from Manchester 2005 they're giving away in conjunction with the release of the box set. Eels are calling it an EP, and so shall we. The EP is available for the price of one email address now through next Tuesday (October 28), and it's the only way other than forking over the dough for the big box that you'll get to hear any of Manchester 2005.

Those Eels have no live dates scheduled at present, though frontman Mark Oliver "E" Everett hits Book Soup in West Hollywood October 28 for a signing of his recently released tome Things The Grandchildren Should Know. And, if you happen to be close to a telly tonight (October 21), hit up PBS and take in an eyeful of Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives. The documentary about E and his father, quantum physicist Hugh Everett III, will appear as part of the "Nova" series. Look at you, all smart and stuff, watching PBS.

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The Zappa Family Trust has announced that they will begin a project of commemorating the 40th anniversary of Frank Zappa's albums with the November 25 release of Lumpy Money. The three-CD set will include two separate mixes of the albums Lumpy Gravy and We're Only In It for the Money along with the first official release of Zappa's instrumental "ballet" version of Lumpy Gravy.

A second release with further recordings from the sessions for the two albums will follow along with an individual expanded version of Cruising with Ruben and the Jets, a live album from the Roxy in Los Angeles and Zappa's interpretations of compositions by composer Edgar Varese.

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Vinyl Record Releases

October 28, 2008

Band - The Band
Band - Music From Big Pink
Beach Boys - Endless Summer (2-Disc)
Clash - Live at Shea Stadium
Cure - 4:13 Dream
John Lennon - Rock 'N' Roll
Paul McCartney & Wings - Band on the Run
Megadeath - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying
Megadeath - Rust in Peace
Metallica - And Justice For All (2-LPs)
Metallica - And Justice For All (4-LPs at 45 RPM)
Queen - A Day at the Races
Queen - A Night at the Opera
Queen - Queen II
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Queen + Paul Rodgers - The Cosmos Rocks
Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music - Roxy Music
Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
Slayer - Haunting the Chapel
Slayer - Hell Awaits
Slayer - Live Undead/Haunting the Chapel
Slayer - Show No Mercy
Bruce Springsteen - Dream Baby Dream (Single)
Stray Cats - Built for Speed
ZZ Top - Live From Texas

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More vinyl releases:

Beach House: Used To Be (single)
Bloc Party: Talons (import single)
Brett Dennen: Hope for the Hopeless (vinyl)
Brother JT3: Jelly Roll Gospel (vinyl)
Danielson: Our Givest (Remix) (vinyl)
The Dears: Missiles (vinyl)
Dears: Money Babies (import single)
Deep Vibration: Vera Cruz EP
El Guincho: Alegranza! (vinyl)
Electric Six: Flashy (vinyl)
Eric Copeland: Alien In A Garbage Dump (vinyl single)
Gang Gang Dance: Saint Dymphna (vinyl)
Grails: Doomsdayer's Holiday (vinyl)
Hank Williams III: Damn Right, Rebel Proud (vinyl)
Heavy Hands: Smoke Signals (vinyl)
The High Strung: Moxie Bravo (vinyl reissue)
Jack White & Alicia Keys: Another Way to Die (import single)
JeJimi Hendrix: Axis: Bold as Love (vinyl reissue)
Jolie Holland: The Living and the Dead (vinyl)
Keane: Lovers Are Losing (import single)
Lake: Oh, the Places We'll Go (vinyl)
Last Shadow Puppets: My Mistakes Were Made for You (import single)
Libertines: Time for Heroes: The Best of the Libertines (vinyl)
Night Horse: The Dark Won't Hide You (vinyl)
Of Montreal: Skeletal Lamping (2-LP vinyl)
Parts & Labor: Receivers (vinyl)
Pit Er Pat: High Time (vinyl)
PJ Harvey: To Bring You My Love (vinyl reissue)
Primus: Sailing the Seas of Cheese (vinyl reissue)
RTX: JJ Got Live RaTX (vinyl)
Sam Taylor Wood: I'm in Love with a German Film Star (single)(vinyl)
Sea and Cake: Car Alarm (vinyl)
Sebastian Grainger: Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains (vinyl)
Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins: Clutch of the Tiger (vinyl)
So So Glos: Tourism/ Terrorism (vinyl)
White Hinterland: Luniculaire EP
Yo Majesty: Futuristically Speaking: Never Be Afraid (vinyl)

Classic Rock Videos

The Ronettes- Baby, I Love You

Top 5 eBay Vinyl Record Sales

Week Ending 10/18/2008

1. LP - Velvet Underground & Nico Verve Mono Promo - $4,050.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 19

2. 10" - Bob Dylan studio acetate "Gospel Plow" - $3,500.00 Start: $3,500.00 Bids: BIN

3. LP - Richard Marrero & The Group "A Taste" TSG - $3,449.00 Start: $24.99 Bids: 26

4. 45 rpm - Flowers "For Real (Vocal)" / "For Real (Instrumental)" - $2,750.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 21

5. LP - Johnny Burnette "Rock 'N Roll Trio" Coral Canadian Pressing - $2,500.00 Start: $2,500.00 Bids: BIN

A promo copy of the original Velvel Underground & Nico LP with Warhol banana peel tops the list this week at over $4k. This sale closes at $100 less than a similar copy sold for in 2005. A one-of-a-kind takes the #2 spot, John Hammond's own acetate from Dylan's first album recording sessions, selling at its asking price of $3.5k on a Buy-It-Now.

Next, a rare Jazz-Funk LP from the seventies bids up past $3.4k, and in the #4 spot a modern soul 45 from Flowers sells for more than $2.7k.

Last, another Johnny Burnette "Rock 'N Roll Trio" LP, a list topper from two weeks ago, gets it asking price at $2.5k, this one a Canadian pressing.

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Week Ending 10/11/2008

1. 45 rpm - Junior McCants "Try Me For Your New Love" / "She Wrote It - I Read It" King 6106 WLP - $15,099.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 25

2. 45 rpm- The Primers "How Does It Grab You" / "Roll Around Heaven" Hale 101 - $5,310.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 27

3. LP - Jackie McLean "New Tradition" Ad Lib - $2,501.00 Start: $20.00 Bids: 12

4. LP - The Chantels "We Are The Cantels" End - $2,326.99 Start: $750.00 Bids: 11

5. 45rpm- Elvis Presley "Good Rockin Tonight" / "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine" Sun 210 - $2,150.00 Start: $2,150.00 Bids: BIN


Wall Street sucks, The City strains, but we got soul! The highest selling record of the year closes a dollar below $15.1k the week that the worlds economy chokes on its own vomit. As my grandmother used to say, "There'll always be somebody with money."

The top spot this week goes to 100 club member Junior McCants with his legendary "Try Me For Your New Love" King 45. The story, and those outside Northern Soul circles likely don't know it, is that Junior McCants died suddenly of a brian tumor, causing King to pull this record before it was ever released, it some years later becoming a club rarity.

Next, another Northern Soul 45 from The Primers gets a good price at over $5.3k. A jazz LP from Jakie McLean places in the #3 spot closing a dollar over $2.5k.

The Chantels "We Are The Chantels" LP bids up over $2.3k for the number 4 spot. On a Buy-It-Now, an Elvis Sun 45 sells for halfway over $2.1k and gets the number 5 spot.

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Week Ending 10/04/2008

1. LP - Johnny Burnette "Rock 'N Roll Trio" LP Coral US Pressing - $2,830.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 26

2. 45 rpm - Devotions "Do Do De Dop" / "Can You Explain It" National - $2,225.00 Start: $999.00 Bids: 7

3. LP - The Beatles self titled 'White Album' UK Parlaphone (for export) - $2,025.00 Start: $999.00 Bids: 8

4. 45 rpm - David Bowie "Changes" / "Andy Warhol" Japanese Picture Sleeve - $1,850.00 Start: $1,850.00 Bids: BIN

5. 45 rpm - Wayne Williams "Red Hot Mama" / "Tell Me What To Do" Sure - $1,580.00 Start: $9.99 Bids: 18

A popular LP collectible tops the list this week, Johnny Burnette's "Rock 'N Roll Trio" in near mint condition sells for over $2.8k. This record is not all that rare, as the graph shows, however manufacturing practices at Coral in the fifties make a near mint version like this one (and others on the top peaks of the graph) a rare and valuable find. By comparison, UK versions in near mint condition tend to sell at about two-thirds their US counterparts, as UK jackets used glossy material and wide tabs to hold the jacket together.

In the #2 spot a Northern Soul 45 from Devotions closes past $2.2k.

The #3 spot goes to a Beatles' White Album, this one a UK pressing on Parlophone. The Parlophones of Apple days are pressings that got exported to Commonwealth countries. This one sells for a little over $2k. Just to note, the rarest of these Parlophone pressings is Yellow Submarine, which typically fetches $10k.

A David Bowie Japanese 45 gets the #4 spot, selling on a Buy-It-Now for over $1.8k and the #5 goes to another Northern Soul 45. This one from Wayne Williams, and it sells for over $1.5k.

SOURCE: As always, I want to thank Brian over at http://ccdiscoveries.blogspot.com/for this valuable information.

This Date In Music History- October 22

Birthdays:

Mountain's Leslie West was born in New York in 1945.

Birthday wishes to Country singer Shelby Lynne (1968).

Eddie Brigati of The Young Rascals was born in 1946.

Beach lover Annette Funicello ("Tall Paul") turns 66.

History:

The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" made its debut on the US singles chart in 1966. It was a song that Brian Wilson and Mike Love wrote and Brian spent six months working on. The tracks were recorded in seventeen different sessions in four Los Angeles studios, at a cost of over sixteen thousand dollars. The recording engineer would later say that the last take sounded exactly like the first, six months earlier. The record would reach number one on December 10th 1966, and be nominated for Song Of The Year at The Grammy Awards, but lost to "Winchester Cathedral" by The New Vaudeville Band.

The late Bobby Fuller ("I Fought The Law") was born in 1943. Fuller died on July 18, 1966 mysteriously from gasoline asphyxiation, while parked in a car outside his apartment.

Chubby Checker performed a medley of "The Twist" and "Let's Twist Again" on CBS-TV's "Ed Sullivan Show" in 1961, sparking chart revivals for both tunes ("The Twist" even returned to #1).

In 1964, EMI Records in Britain rejected the Who (who are calling themselves the High Numbers at that time) after the group's audition.

Tommy Edwards, who originally recorded the smash "It's All in the Game," died in 1969.

The soundtrack to Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same was released in 1976 and the concert film opened nationwide.

Producer Jimmy Miller died in Boulder, Colorado in 1994. He gave the rock back to the Rolling Stones when he produced "Jumpin' Jack Flash," and worked on their finest records, as well as albums by Traffic and Motorhead.
"Get Off My Cloud" was released in the U.K. by the Rolling Stones in 1965. Two weeks later, it will be number one.

The Supremes became the first female group to have a number one album on the US chart when the L.P. "Supremes A-Go-Go" reached the top in 1966. It knocked The Beatles' "Revolver" from the head of the list.

Elton John sold out Madison Square Garden for a record 26th time in 1988.

Phil Collins's cover version of "Groovy Kind Of Love" topped the Billboard singles chart in 1988. The song had also been a US number one hit for The Mindbenders in 1966.

Sales figures released in 1996 showed that The Beatles sold 6,000,000 albums from their back catalog and a combined total of 13,000,000 copies of "The Beatles Anthology 1" and "The Beatles Anthology 2". A poll showed that 41% of sales were to teenagers who were not even born when The Beatles split up in 1970.

Pearl Jam played their first concert when they appeared at the Off Ramp in Seattle in 1990.

"Hotter Than Hell" was released by KISS in 1974. It was the second album to be released by the band.

Building on their debut earlier in the year, “Led Zeppelin II” was released in 1969.

Album Cover Art

Moving along, we now explore Gigwise.com's #7 most controversial, weirdest, best and worst album covers as put together by their crack staff:

Controversial


7. The Coup: ‘Party Music’ – The Coup, part of the sub-genre of political hip hop, is politically radical and Marxist in their music, and align themselves with other radical hip-hop groups like Dead Prez. Their music is characterized by electronic sounds and bass-driven backbeats overlaid by humorous, cynical and sometimes violent lyrics criticizing capitalism, American politics, pimping as a form of patriarchal exploitation, and police brutality, among other things.

In 2001, The Coup released Party Music to widespread praise. However, in part due to distribution problems, sales of the album were low. The original album cover art depicted group members Pam the Funkstress and Riley standing in front of the twin towers of the World Trade Center as they are destroyed by huge explosions; Riley is pushing the button on a guitar tuner. The cover art was finished in June 2001, and was scheduled to be released just after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In response to the uncanny similarity of the artwork with the Sept. 11 attacks, the album release was held back until alternative cover art could be prepared.

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Weird


7. Jim O'Rourke: 'Eureka' Uh, what is that rabbit doing? An odd cover indeed, I think the less said the better. Eureka is an album by American musician Jim O'Rourke. It was released on Drag City in 1999. It is named after the 1984 Nicolas Roeg film of the same name. It is one of three albums recorded by O'Rourke that are named after Roeg films.



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Worst


7. Tino – ‘Por Primera Vez’ He seems super concerned that you notice the wedding ring on the left hand. Wonder why. A super terrible cover, the main claim to fame for this release is that it makes many, many lists for the worst cover.



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Best


7. The Beatles – ‘Abbey Road’ Abbey Road is the eleventh official album released by The Beatles. Though work on Abbey Road began in April 1969, making it the twelfth and final album recorded by the band; Let It Be was the last album released before the Beatles' dissolution in 1970. Abbey Road was released on 26 September 1969 in the United Kingdom, and 1 October 1969 in the United States. It was produced and orchestrated by George Martin for Apple Records. Geoff Emerick was the engineer, Alan Parsons was assistant engineer, and Tony Banks tape operator. It is regarded as one of The Beatles' most tightly constructed albums, although the band was barely operating as a functioning unit at the time. Rolling Stone magazine named it the 14th greatest album of all time.

At some point, the album was going to be titled Everest, after the brand of cigarettes I used to smoke", recalls Geoff Emerick. The idea included a cover photo in the Himalayas, but by the time the group was to take the photo, they decided to call it Abbey Road and take the photo outside the studio, on 8 August 1969. The cover designer was Apple Records creative Director Kosh. The cover photograph was taken by photographer Iain Macmillan. Macmillan was given only ten minutes around 11.30 that morning to take the photo. That cover photograph has since become one of the most famous and most imitated album covers in recording history. The man standing on the pavement in the background is Paul Cole (d. 13 February 2008), an American tourist who was unaware that he was being photographed until he saw the album cover months later. The zebra crossing today remains a popular destination for Beatles fans; see the Abbey Road webcam.

The Beetle
The Volkswagen Beetle parked next to the zebra crossing belonged to one of the people living in the apartment across from the recording studio. After the album came out, the number plate was stolen repeatedly from the car. In 1986, the car was sold at an auction for $23,000 and is currently on display at the Volkswagen museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.

imitations and parodies
The front cover of Abbey Road has become an icon within popular culture and has been imitated and lampooned repeatedly. The zebra crossing at Abbey Road is also a popular tourist destination, with visitors making their own recreation an extremely common sight.

In music
Many record covers have imitated the cover of Abbey Road, many using photographs shot at the same zebra crossing. Some of the best known of these include Red Hot Chili Peppers' The Abbey Road E.P. (in which the band appear nude, apart from tactfully placed socks), Paul McCartney's live album Paul Is Live, Beatles parody The Rutles's Shabby Road, The Shadows's Live At Abbey Road LP, Booker T. & the M.G.s's LP McLemore Avenue, Kanye West's Live Orchestration DVD (recorded at Abbey Road studios) and Sttellla's A.B. Rose (recorded live at the Ancienne Belgique, with the band dressed in rose).

Only the Beatles could have an image of the band crossing a street and have it recognized as one of the best covers of all time.